Sounds you can't get?

selta said:
EHX Bassballs
Ringmod - Dr. Scientist BitQuest is a GREAT one
Bitcrushing - Dr. Scientist BitQuest is actually great at this as well!
:p
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Good choices sir! Yes the Ringmod in the Axe fx can do nice things (especially octaver sounds) but it is not the best for the typical old school ring mod sounds like the Moogerfooger Ringmod does for example. The Bitcrush in the Axe fx is also nice for some things but also very limited.

But maybe what I miss the most is a really good electric Mistress (old one) flanger sound and a really authentic tape delay sound a la echoplex. I use my Catalinbread Belle Epoch for that now which is nicer (for me) than the tape delay algo in the Axe fx.

But instead of focusing on what the Axe fx can't do I concentrate on what it can do. Which is really much and that's why I love my Axe fx. You can't expect it to do it all because then you can get frustrated. If I miss something I buy the pedal and use it along with my Axe fx. I always take three extra pedals to gigs.
 
AllanH said:
The knopfler drive tones (brothers in arms, money for notning etc) is hard to dial in....close but then again notning more than that. According to the amp and cabs available it should be a possible.
The clean Knopfler tones are stellar....
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The Money for Nothing tone as I recall from an interview I read a few years ago was something of a one time, got lucky, studio thing. I can't remember exactly if it was a mic placement thing or a wah in a certain spot or both type thing. I'm sure if ya google it you can find it. I remember it being a pretty cool read as to exactly how they got that tone for that song.
 
I get all tones I can play. I can't play country, and don't have a Tele, so I can't do that. I wish I could.
 
Lionheart said:
The fuzz models are lacking authenticity, IMHO.
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I too have a hard time dialing in a good fuzz, what works for me is I run it first in the chain in parallel and crank everything up and use the mix or level knob to keep it from howling at you.
It is also recommended in the manual to run your drives first in the chain, but I like to run my wah before the drive ala (Hendrix) so I run the fuzz input before wah and fuzz output after the wah
 
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Perdikament said:
The Money for Nothing tone as I recall from an interview I read a few years ago was something of a one time, got lucky, studio thing. I can't remember exactly if it was a mic placement thing or a wah in a certain spot or both type thing. I'm sure if ya google it you can find it. I remember it being a pretty cool read as to exactly how they got that tone for that song.
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Cheers for that. I'm fully aware on how Knopfler did it, and which amps he's been using in studio and live performances, so my starting point in my Axe is great. I am quite a of a Knopfler nerd, sorry to say, studied him for years :) It just doesn't really hit the sweet spot (close but no cigar)
 
haffner1 said:
I haven't been able to get that EVH type Doppler effect like at the end of Eruption, where he turns the knob on the delay and it sort of sound like a super low whammy drop. I don't know if it's because the effect is resampling as you change it with the expression pedal or if I'm just tying it to the wrong parameter but it doesn't sound right, it comes out as more of a high frequency squeal.
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Like this.........;)...........http://forum.fractalaudio.com/threa...-somebody-get-me-a-doctor.85610/#post-1039373
 
Someone already mentioned the HOG but I came here to add the POG. Similar devices of course. The current pitch shifting and synth effects already in the AXE just seem to be missing that certain something that the HOG/POG are able to do.
 
shredi knight said:
A nice tight, heavy rock/metal rhythm tone without having to put a Drive block in front of the Amp block. I've heard plenty of other Axe users achieve it, but all I get is a bland, weak, flubby tone when it's just an Amp & Cab block, even when trying those Axe user's patches.
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I've found that when I can't, or just don't want to use a drive block, in my Marshall 50w Plexi, and JMP1 patches, I can up the Preamp Dynamics by 1 or 2, and it gives me a little extra tightness, and a touch more drive.
 
EHX Microsynth, Zvex Fuzz Factory. Honestly though, I might just re-buy a Microsynth and, throw in my loop, and the Zvex I will eventually mod into a guitar, so I can put it before my wireless, when I play live.
 
Rex said:
That clever circuit design is already in there. Check out the Input Impedance parameter.
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No it's not. The the direct interaction between the pickups, the volume knob on the guitar and the transistors is key to the FF tone. That interaction just can't happen with the AF.
 
StickMan said:
No it's not. The the direct interaction between the pickups, the volume knob on the guitar and the transistors is key to the FF tone. That interaction just can't happen with the AF.
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Interaction is typically caused by th input circuit loading down the guitar. That's well modeled in the Axe. In what way does the guitar affect FF's transistors?
 
Rex said:
Interaction is typically caused by th input circuit loading down the guitar. That's well modeled in the Axe. In what way does the guitar affect FF's transistors?
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It's a dynamic interaction with a real Fuzz pedal. It's very frequency and level dependent. And as previously stated with germanium transistors it can even be temperature dependent. The settings on the Axe FX input lets you choose specific preset impedance settings that aren't dynamic. (ie The impedance your guitar sees on a buffered pedal versus an amp input. Whether there is a long cable connected, etc.)
 
FUZZ!

I ended up with 3 fuzzes in my Axe Rack, Fulltone Ultimate octave, Devi Ever Atomizer and a Fuzz Factory ... I tried tweaking the Fuzz but I could not get anything near the crazy quality of the Fuzz Factory, or the Zipper in the Atomizer ... I got real close to the Fultone ... but not close enough.

I'm thinking about picking up the DUH! by Joe Gore ...

Vibe!

The Vibe in the Axe is not as good as the Mojo Vibe I have, and the Vibe Machine (Which I've used) is head and shoulders above what I've been able to get out of the Axe.

Tape Delay:

The strymon TimeLine kicks ass on the Axe, it does a lot of things, but the Tape Echo in it is amazing. It has warble and feel that the Axe just does not do. And in general, when you let it run into self oscillation it's so much more musical than the Axe can get.
 
Hellbat said:
It's a dynamic interaction with a real Fuzz pedal. It's very frequency and level dependent. And as previously stated with germanium transistors it can even be temperature dependent. The settings on the Axe FX input lets you choose specific preset impedance settings that aren't dynamic. (ie The impedance your guitar sees on a buffered pedal versus an amp input. Whether there is a long cable connected, etc.)
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Help me understand that. Are you saying that the input impedance of a fuzz pedal changes over time?
 
Rex said:
Help me understand that. Are you saying that the input impedance of a fuzz pedal changes over time?
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I only know enough to be dangerous so don't expect a full scientific answer, ( and possibly not 100% correct. :) ) but it varies based on frequency, not time. And it's tied to the impedance of the guitar cable, internal electronics, and pickups themselves. All of these components also interact with each other in a form of an RC filter network. It's a very complicated interdependency.
 
You're right—the impedance presented by a pedal is frequency-dependent. It's made up of resistive and capacitive impedances (that's the RC network you spoke of). It interacts with the impedance of the guitar. And it's exactly what's modeled by the Axe's INPUT IMP parameter.
 
The variable impedance input circuit of the Axe does affect the loading of the guitar's pickups, but the fuzz in the drive block is designed around an arbitrary fixed output impedance for the device driving it. It responds as though it is being driven by a buffer, not the actual load of the guitar pickups. It does not react to the guitar circuit the way a real Fuzz pedal does, particularly when you roll back the volume knob on the guitar.
 
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I think most "fuzz needs to go first in the chain because it interacts with the guitar pups and it won't sound good otherwise" arguments fall a bit flat, because a Mr. James Marshall Hendrix, (Jimi to his friends) by most accounts had a pretty darn good fuzz tone (or at least one that about a dozen+ fuzz pedals claim they are emulating) and he typically put his fuzz AFTER his wah pedal in his chain. Seemingly A LOT of people spend A LOT of money chasing his tone and hold it as a standard for a great fuzz tone. Odd huh....?

Now I do agree it can sound a little different, especially with a Ge fuzz, with the way it cleans up with volume pot roll back, but its not that drastic, and most Si fuzz don't seem to care where in the chain they go. A decent fuzz really sounds good anywhere. I've put my Skreddy Lunar Module Deluxe into the Axe loop and it still sounded great, giving everything from FF tones to nice OD tones.

Other fact of the matter is that many fuzzes, again Ge in particular, are going to sound more different based on the ambient temperature and type of battery than where in the chain they go. Ever play an outdoor gig in the summer where the sun hits the stage ? FF's totally change their behavior after they heat up a bit.

If one thinks it sounds best in front, more power to them, use it where you like it, but the hype about some sonic voodoo or "mojo" you get from the magical interaction between the fuzz and the guitar pickups is largely overblown internet forum BS, and surely Jimi would continue to put his fuzz where you wanted regardless of what the "experts" say
 
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